Category Archives: Fox River Heritage Paddles

Nature Current BIG Canoe Participating on Fox – Wisconsin Heritage Parkway Paddles

The Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway and the North East Wisconsin Paddlers are proud to bring you the 2013 Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Paddles. This annual paddling series is designed to celebrate and explore the Parkway region.

This year our Nature Current Voyageur canoe will be joining the paddlers starting on June 22nd in Princeton and all the rest of the paddles in the series through the Sept. 28th Appleton Locks Paddle.  If you would like a ride with us on one of the these Heritage Paddles please get in touch with Mark at Nature Current. 

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Upper Fox River

June 22-23: Upper Fox Paddles
22 – Princeton to Berlin
Camp at Berlin’s Riverside Park
23 – Winneconne to Terrell Island to Rainbow Park in Oshkosh
Meet & shuttle: 9:30-10:30 AM; Launch 11 AM

Lower Fox River

July 20: Park-to-Park Paddle
Shattuck Park (Neenah) to Lutz Park (Appleton)
Meet & shuttle: 7:30-9 AM; Launch 9:30 AM

August 17: Tall Ships Paddle
De Pere to Green Bay
Paddle among replicas of historic sailing ships
Meet & shuttle: 8-9 AM; Launch 9:30 AM

September 28: Appleton Locks Paddle
Lutz Park (Appleton) to Sunset Point Park (Kimberly)
Paddle through Appleton’s four hand-operated locks
Meet & shuttle: 8-9 AM; Launch 9:30 AM

Heritage Paddle Activities

Paddlers are encouraged to seek additional heritage opportunities at each paddle event.

June 22-23: Upper Fox Paddles
Two voyageur canoes and two DNR canoes will be available. On June 23, Pierre Le Blanc will interpret fur trader times as a passenger from one of the canoes during the paddle.

July 20: Park-to-Park Paddle
Two voyageur canoes and two DNR canoes will be available. Please join us after the paddle at the Appleton Yacht Club for a special guest speaker. Paul Robbins, director of the UW Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies, will be speanking Wisconsin water bodies and the implications of climate Change.

August 17: Tall Ships Paddle
One voyageur canoe will be available, as well as historic voyageur, Pierre Le Blanc. The Tall Ships Festival will take place downtown Green Bay, August 16-18.

September 28: Appleton Locks Paddle
Two voyageur canoes and two DNR canoes will be available, as well as historic voyageur, Pierre Le Blanc.

Heritage Paddle Helpful Links

Reserve your spot in our Voyageur Canoe

Contact Mark at Nature Current to reserve your spot.  Email:  info@naturecurrent.com

 

Fox River Appleton Locks Paddle Video Part 5

Voyager Canoe leaving lock #4

The final video from the Appleton Locks group paddle on September 24th. 119 canoes and kayaks enjoyed a fun outing on the Fox River in Appleton. Paddlers started at Lutz Park in Appleton and traveled to Sunset Park in Kimberly, traveling through the 4 Appleton locks over the 6 mile paddle. Check out the previous 4 videos to see the entire trip in video.

Thanks for watching this final segment of the Appleton Locks paddle.

Enjoy videos from part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4 of our paddle journey through the Appleton locks.

Fox River Appleton Locks Paddle Video part 4

Fox River Appleton Locks Oneida St. bridge

Appleton Locks Paddle 4th segment video from our group paddle on September 24th. This video is of the group paddling through the locks from Appleton Lock #3 to Lock #4 with 119 other paddlers. Thanks to Northeast Wisconsin Paddlers for organizing this group paddle outing.

Check out videos from part 1, part 2 and part 3 of the Appleton Locks group paddle.

Fox River Appleton Locks Paddle Video #1

Northeast Wisconsin Paddlers had a great paddle event on the Fox River in September. 119 kayaks and canoes started at Lutz Park in Appleton, went through the 4 Appleton locks and on to Sunset Park in Kimberly.

Here is a video with highlights from the beginning of the trip.

Stay tuned for additional videos from the Appleton Locks Paddle.

Appleton Locks Paddle in Photos

morning mist at the Lutz Park boat landing

The Fox River at Lutz Park in Appleton was covered in mist as we prepared to launch 119 canoes and kayaks into the river on September 24th for the 2nd Annual Appleton Locks Paddle.

The weather cooperated for our 6 miles on the river to Sunset Park in Kimberly. Highlights of the trip were traveling through the 4 Appleton Locks, a bit of history from the lock tenders family reunion that was also a part of the paddle and the eagles we saw on the river right in the heart of the city.

Enjoy the slideshow from the trip.

Video from the paddles will be available soon.

Depere to Green Bay Moonlight Paddle

Where was the moon for our Moonlight Paddle?  The clouds completely blocked any view of the moon on Friday night for the Fox River Heritage Moonlight Paddle and we were rained on during our last hour but that didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits that I noticed.  It was a great night for a paddle!

The Moonlight Paddle on August 12th was a big success.  About sixty boats paddled the 8 miles from Bomier Park in Depere to the Municipal landing at the mouth of the Fox River in Green Bay.  The event put on by Northeast Wisconsin Paddlers and the Fox Heritage Parkway was a fund raiser for the future parkway on the Fox River.

We had a variety of paddlers from first timers to experienced paddlers and a big variety of ages.   Two DNR voyager canoes participated in the paddle.  A couple of stand up paddlers did the 8 mile trip and many canoes were mixed in with kayaks of all shapes and sizes.

Turn out on Friday was so big that we exceeded the capacity of our shuttle bus.  Quick thinking by our group leaders to do some extra self shuttling got our group off on time.

The Fox River through Green Bay was a good after dark paddle.  The lights from the city helped guide our way and seeing Green Bay from a kayak in the Fox River is an interesting experience.

If you paddle at night make sure to take a white light so other boaters can see you and watch out for boat traffic at night.  It’s always a good idea to let somebody know where you are and when you will return.

Moonlight Paddle Video

I captured a few moments on the river and going through the lock with the GoPro camera.

The next Fox Heritage Paddle is the Appleton Locks Paddle event is September 24th from Appleton to Kimberly.

Friday Night Fox River Heritage Paddle

Kayakers and canoeists are invited to participate in the next Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Paddle event on the Fox River from De Pere to Green Bay on Friday night.

Participants should meet at 4:30 p.m. at the Bomier Park boat landing on the east bank of the river just south of downtown De Pere to unload, register and shuttle vehicles to the takeout. A presentation will be made by a Heritage Hill State Historical Park staff member before the 6 p.m. launch.

The 8-mile journey will pass through the De Pere lock and downtown Green Bay to the takeout at the Green Bay Metro Boat Landing.

A fee of $10 per participant helps cover expenses of the paddles in the paddle series, which supports the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway’s effort to create a designated water trail and gain National Heritage Area status for the historic waterway.

For more information visit the Northeast Wisconsin Paddlers at www.wisconsinpaddlers.org

Park to Park Paddle 2011 Highlights

 

Park to Park 2011 was July 23rd.  This was the 10th Annual paddle from Neenah to Appleton.   136 boats made the journey on the Fox River through Lake Winnebago and Little Lake Butte Des Mortes.  Early morning thunderstorms and a threat of more in the forecast kept the participation down.  We had sunny weather and light winds for the entire trip.

Park to Park is put on by Northeast Wisconsin Paddlers.  There are 2 more NEWP paddle trips planned for 2011.  The Moonlight Paddle from Depere to Green Bay on Friday, August 12th and the Appleton Locks Paddle on September 24.

Park to Park 2011 Video

 

Park to Park 2011 Slideshow

Portage Canal Days Paddle

June 5th was a beautiful day for the first Fox Wisconsin Heritage Paddle of 2011.   A group of over 30 paddlers met at the wayside across Hwy 33 from the Fort Winnebago Surgeon’s Quarters in Portage.  We had a variety of kayaks, canoes, 2 stand up paddlers and even a voyager canoe joined up on this first leg of the paddle on the Fox River.

The journey from Hwy 33 to the Portage Canal was about a mile on the winding and fairly narrow Fox River.  When our group reached the Portage Canal we encountered our first of 3 portages. We were also lucky enough to enjoy a historic re-enactors battle performance at the canal.

After a short break to enjoy the re-enactors camp we began the paddle in the weedy canal.  The Portage Canal is only partially restored.  It was very weedy for the beginning of June and became very narrow as we approached the 2nd portage.  After the 2nd portage canal paddle became much easier in the restored sections.  We had a long tunnel paddle under a road and traveled through an old non working lock to the final portage to the Wisconsin River.   This 2nd portage had the longest carry but we had a paved trail and sidewalk right down to the sandy shores of the Wisconsin River.

The 6 mile paddle from Riverside Park in Portage to Dekorra was beautiful.  We were floated and paddled with the current.  Development along the river is mostly buffered by trees, creating a natural experience right on the edge of the city of Portage.  We had an eagle fly right by us about 2/3 of the way on the river.  The Wisconsin River is full of sand bars that shift and change with the flows of current.  Wide and mostly shallow, the Wisconsin River around Portage is an easy and enjoyable paddle trip for all abilities.

Here’s an overview of the Portage paddle.

Portage celebrated its annual Canal Days Celebration June 4 and 5 this year and we’ll be kicking off our Fox Wisconsin Heritage Paddle 2011 by passing through their canal. Our trip will pick up from last year’s Fox River Heritage Paddle with a short trip down the Fox River from the Fort Winnebago Surgeon’s Quarters to the Historic Indian Agency House and then proceed through the Portage Canal with a few short portages in the City of Portage to the Wisconsin River just above Riverside Park. We’ll continue down the Lower Wisconsin River to end the trip at Dekorra. This trip totals about ten miles, but includes several minor interruptions for portages and plans for lunch at Riverside Park. Those who would rather hike the two-mile Wisconsin River Levee Trail from the Surgeon’s Quarters to the park can join us after lunch to paddle down the Wisconsin River to the end of the trip.

Why was this route chosen?

As we made plans to continue our rediscovery of the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway, it became apparent that completing the link through Portage is critical. Not only the symbolic high-point of the fur trader route through Wisconsin, it is also the true “high point” of the route! Passing from the Fox River, through Portage, and into the Lower Wisconsin River establishes the link that connects the entire Parkway!

Enjoy of Photo Gallery from the Portage Canal Days Paddle

 

Historic paddle events retrace route of early explorers

Michael King interviewed me for the article he put together about this year’s Fox – Wisconsin Heritage Paddle events for the Appleton Post Crescent and Wisconsin Outdoor Fun.  The following is an excerpt from the article.

 

Article from Wisconsin Outdoor Fun by Michael King

Mark Gehrke, of Hortonville, is among a group of paddling enthusiasts who will soon embark on the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Paddle 2011, retracing the historic route taken by early explorers.

More than three centuries have passed since Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet traversed the Fox and Wisconsin rivers as a route from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and beyond for early settlers.

On June 5, the pair’s historic 1673 crossing between the rivers will be celebrated with the first of eight paddle events this year during the Canal Days festival in Portage, where the Wisconsin and Fox come close to each other.

Gehrke, 47, plans to participate in most of the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Paddle segments covering 120 miles of the two rivers this summer. He was one of more than 400 canoeists and kayakers who participated last year on one or more of the 12 segments covering 120 miles of the Fox River.

“I love going through the Fox Cities on the Fox River,” Gehrke said. “There is a lot of natural beauty along the river banks right in the heart of the Valley.”

The Fox River segments include the popular Park-to-Park Paddle from Neenah to Appleton on July 23, a new moonlight paddle Aug. 12 from De Pere to Green Bay and a paddle through the Appleton locks during Octoberfest on Sept. 24.

Read the entire article here

See the full schedule of Fox – Wisconsin Heritage Paddles on our Events Page.